Next Generation
by Fiery Keys
Summary: A collection of oneshots and drabbles about the next generation of Fairy Tail!
1. Igneel is Born

Next GenerationChapter OneIgneel is Born

Nashi hung around the infirmary anxiously. She couldn't hear anything because of the soundproof spell around the room, but she knew that something was happening to her mother.

The door opened and Natsu stepped out, beaming. "Come see your new brother, Nashi!"

Nashi ran into the room excitedly. Lucy was lying on the bed, pale and tired from the delivery, but happy, as she cradled her baby boy in her arms. Nashi went over eagerly and stared down at the child. He was adorable, she decided and grinned up at Lucy. "What's his name, Mums?"

"Igneel." Nastu said from behind her. Nashi whirled around.

"You're naming him after Grandpa Igneel?!" she demanded. "Awesome! No one else in the guild has a brother named after a dragon!"

Lucy chuckled wryly. "I'm not so sure. Gajeel might take it into his head to name his son-if he gets one-after Metallicana. Though I'm not sure if Gajeel is really that heartless as to stick a child with a name like that…"

Nashi wasn't paying attention. "Can I hold Igneel, Mums?"

"Of course, darling."

Nashi carefully lifted Igneel, and stared down at him, already loving him. He felt heavy in her four year old arms. Natsu, seeing this, hastily took him away, afraid that Nashi might drop him.

"C'mon, dad!" Nashi whined. "I'll be careful!"

"Not gonna risk it." Natsu shook his headn and returned Igneel to Lucy, who smiled happily down at her son.

"So, Nashi," Lucy looked up at her daughter as she spoke. "Will you be a good older sister to Igneel?"

"Yeah!" Nashi cheered. "The very best!"


	2. Death

Chapter 2 Death

After 18 hours of nothing but pain and exhaustion, Lucy Dragneel lay back against the sheets as her second child, a baby boy they had decided to name Ryu was taken from her arms. Her cheeks were flushed and she was filled with pure joy and love. So taken up with the thoughts of the newest addition to the family, she didn't notice Porlyusica whispering mysteriously to Natsu, who's face was a study and Wendy desperately trying to hold back tears.

"Is something wrong, Natsu?" Lucy asked as her husband walked over to the bed. Some alarm rose in her chest. Natsu's face was pale and grave and he suddenly looked 10 years older. "Natsu! What's wrong?!"

Natsu bent his head and whispered bitter words. They were few, but Lucy knew what they meant perfectly well.

A piteous and agonized cry tore it's way from her lips.

"Wait here, dear." Aunt Mira said kindly to a three-year old Nashi who was reading a picture book. "I'll go and check up on your mother."

Nashi nodded absently, brushing a raven curl out of her eyes, not taking them off the book. She looked up, however, when Aunt Mira came back, tears streaming down her cheeks.

To this very day, Nashi had no idea how she knew that something had happened to upset her mother. And ignoring Aunt Mira's protests, she dashed into the infirmary.

The funeral was held on a dark, rainy afternoon. Lucy watched with dull and hollow eyes as her son was lifted into the casket.

 _Surely_ her son couldn't be dead….. _surely_ he was alive and healthy….. _surely_ Nashi was examining him with curious amber eyes…

"He's in a better place now." That one sentence spoke by an unknowing, well-meaning Magnolian citizen finished her. Lucy turned tail and dashed away from the scene, ignoring even Nashi's frightened screams for her mother.

One particularly bitter night, a week after the death, Lucy lay tossing and turning in her bed. Rain poured in sheets outside. Natsu was away on a job and would be back tomorrow.

Natsu had grieved profusely over his lost son, but his sorrow could not compare to Lucy's. After all, he was only a father and she was a mother.

Lucy cried savage tears upon her pillow, angry that her son had to die….angry that he had to go in such a terrible way.

The door opened.

Lucy sat up. Nashi was standing there, tears running down her cheeks and her eyes wild with fright.

"Mommy….!" She sobbed. "I had such a horrible nightmare….."

Lucy stared.

Then, she opened her arms.

"Come, darling."

Seconds later, they were curled up on her bed, Lucy hugging her daughter to her chest. "I'm sorry, Nashi…."

Lucy was ashamed at how she had been neglecting her daughter. Never, she promised herself fiercely, would she do it again.

' _I'll always be there for her, no matter what.'_

 **(A/N): Hope you all enjoyed this angst-y one! I Ryu in Overprotective Brothers, so I thought I'd write about his birth.**


	3. How (unofficial) Team Nashi was formed

**Chapter 3**

 **How the (unofficial) Team Nashi was formed**

A 8-year old Nashi sat in the guild hall, immensely bored. Her best friend, Gale was at home with a cold and reading the same book for the 10th time wasn't her definition of interesting. And Nashi was in no mood to fight with Ur.

As she stared at the pages of the book, a sudden force jolted the chair, throwing Nashi out of it and onto the floor.

"Ugh…" Nashi groaned, trying to get up. She heard Ur's mocking voice above her.

"What's the matter, Nashi? All the fire gone out of ya?"

He ran off, leaving the raven-haired girl on the floor.

"Are you alright?"

Nashi looked up, startled, to see brown eyes boring into her amber ones.

Ah….it was Edward Fernandes, her brain confusedly registered. Nashi really only played with Gale, so she didn't know the other kids well. She may have thrown a casual word to Edward now and then, but had never really held a proper conversation with him.

Nashi observed Edward. He was very handsome, she decided, with the frankness of the child she was. He looked mostly like Jellal, with his azure hair and inherited only Erza's brown eyes.

Edward studied the girl in front of him as well. Nashi, black of hair, gold of eye, found favor in his eyes. He had often wanted to hold a real conversation with her, but never got the chance. Edward, having some faint idea that children should look like their parents, could never understand why Nashi looked as she did. Therefore, she intrigued him.

Edward finally broke the silence by holding out a hand to her, a kind smile appearing on his face. "Can I help you up?"

"Thank you." Nashi said shyly as she took his hand and hoisted herself up, with his help. The very minute they stood there, hands connected, they somehow knew that they would certainly be friends for life hereafter.

Sitting down, Nashi's book, which had fallen some way off was forgotten, as they proceeded to tell each other about themselves.

"I want to be a Heavenly Body mage, like Dad," Edward confided. "I don't know how to tell Mom, though, because she may want me to be a Requip Mage, like her. What about you?"

"Oh, I want to be a Fire Dragon Slayer, like Dad. I told Mums and she took it pretty well, though Dad told me she had her heart set on me becoming a Celestial Spirit Mage, like her." Nashi responded. "I guess Layla can become one, when she grows up, though."

Layla was the third child of the Dragneel family. She was born two years ago and was named in honor of Lucy's deceased mother.

"That's true." Edward agreed and they continued to talk.

By the time dusk had fallen, Nashi parted with Edward to go home, with linked promises of talking the next day.

The next day, Gale returned and the three of them had a jolly time (with timely interruptions from Ur). Gale however, kept shooting mysterious smiles at a confused Nashi.

That day, Nashi had arranged to stay all night at Gale's place, so they walked home together, Levy and Gajeel following closely behind.

"Sooo, Nashi," Gale began with a grin. "You and Edward, huuuuh?"

"What?" Nashi blinked, confused.

Gale rolled her eyes. "What I mean is, Edward's your boyfriend now, hm?"

Nashi blushed. "N-nothing of the sort!" she protested.

Gale grinned. "He's totaaally your boyfriend."

"Isn't!"

"Is!"

"Isn't!"

"Is!"

"Isn't!"

"Is!"

"Isn't!"

"Is!"

"Isn't!"

"Is!"

"Isn't!"

"Is!"

"Shut up, peabrain!"

"Flame Lizard!"

"Iron-Head!"

"That's enough." Levy cut in calmly, before the verbal fight could escalate.

10 minutes later, it was as if the fight never happened.

"Um, Gale?" Nashi asked, biting her lip hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think our twosome…..could become a threesome…? With Edward joining?"

"What?" Gale stopped and turned to look at Nashi."

"If you're okay with it, of course." Nashi added.

Gale stared at her for a minute and then shrugged. "Fine by me."

"Really?!"

"Yeah," Gale smiled as she started to walk again. "He seems pretty cool to me."

Nashi's face broke out in a grin. "Great!"

And that was how the (unofficial) Team Nashi was formed.

 **(A/N): *sigh* finally got this chapter out.**

 **Iamperson111** **,** **thanks for your review! I'm glad you like this story!**

 **Just to clear up any doubts, Nashi takes after Zeref. I saw a prompt on Tumblr suggesting that Nashi should resemble Zeref with black hair and freak the guild members out because they can't understand why she doesn't look like Natsu or Lucy. So, it really interested me and I thought I'd do somethin' new.**

 **Anyway, I'm dead tired…so, bye! Review!**


	4. Team Nashi's First Mission

**Chapter 4**

 **Team Nashi's First Mission**

"Do be careful!" Lucy called to Nashi as she set off. "And remember to give us a call if you need anything!"

A 14 year old Nashi rolled her eyes and replied for the umpteenth time: "Yes, Mums."

"Do a good job!" Natsu yelled. "Have fun!"

"And don't destroy anything," Lucy added anxiously.

"Mums," Nashi said as patiently as she could. "This is a simple job to find a lost box of gems. You wouldn't let us pick anything else, remember?"

"Yes, but-"

"Bye!"

Nashi hurriedly ran down the road and made her way to Gale's house. Gale was all packed and ready. Aunt Levy was still giving Gale last minute instructions and Uncle Gajeel….

"Go for it, Gale! And don't let Salamander's kid beat ya!"

"I heard that." Nashi muttered.

"Sure thing, Pops," Gale grinned as she slung her arm around Nashi's shoulders. "See ya, Mom!"

They were soon at Edward's house. He too, was receiving instructions from Aunt Erza, but they were instructions on how to fight more than anything. Uncle Jellal, the saner of the two simply smiled kindly at the kids and told them to do their best.

Now, let me explain a bit. Team Nashi, (Nashi, Edward and Gale) were going on their first mission ever. It was one to retrieve the mayor of Clover Town's lost box of gems. You may wonder why they haven't gone earlier. And the reason? Overprotective parents.

Later…

"Ugh." Gale moaned, hanging her head out of the window pitifully. She and Nashi, being dragon slayers, had heavy motion sickness.

Nashi, sitting next to Edward, was moaning and writhing in agony. Edward stared at her in sympathy for a minute before an idea struck him. Blushing painfully, he pulled Nashi's head down and rested it on his lap.

Nashi calmed down almost instantly, and relaxed into a dreamless sleep.

While Gale was quite forgotten.

"What about me….?"

Moving on…..

"The mayor was quite sure that the thief has hidden it in this forest," Gale said as they scouted the woods. "It is the only place that is really secured, but….."

"The only way to hide a large chest like that is to bury it," Edward said. "I suppose we'll have to look for recently dug-up ground."

"That isn't necessary," Nashi said thoughtfully. "In clearings, yes, we'll have to look. But otherwise, just glance at the trees and plants and observe them for marks and what not. The thief, if he hadn't buried it in a clearing, would have to mark the areas so that he doesn't lose track."

"That's true," Edward began and then stopped. "I say! I think there's a clearing up ahead!"

There was. It was a little copse of grass surrounded with birch trees. There was a spring at the side. And in the middle, a man was crouched, doing something.

"Who are you?" Gale demanded.

The man jumped and then swung around, revealing a chest full of valuable jewels. The lid bore Clover's crest.

"Kids," he began nervously. "What are you doing in a dangerous forest like this?"

"So you're the thief!" Nashi accused. "Hand over that box or else."

The man suddenly laughed, stood up and took a magic gun from his belt. "Or what? Do you seriously think I going to be cowed down by three kids-two of them _girls_ on top of that?"

A dark aura appeared around the two girls as Edward narrowed his eyes.

"Do not underestimate us." They growled in one voice.

Nashi launched herself into the air and came down upon the thief. "For that comment, I'm going to give you the honor of tasting my newest attack! _Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!_ "

He groaned as he reeled back from the power of Nashi's attack.

"Heads up, mister!" The man in question turned to see Gale charging at him. " _Iron Dragon's Sword_!"

The thief fumbled with his gun. Before that, though-

" _ **Altairis!**_ **" Edward hit the thief with his second most powerful spell.** Nearby shadows were drawn towards him, forming a small black orb which rapidly grew in size and also gained small white lights inside it, similar to the night sky. It hit the thief with great force. But Edward wasn't done yet.

"That one was for stealing," Edward drew back his hand. "And this one is for insulting Nashi and Gale! _Meteor!_ "

The man flew backwards and fell into the spring with a great splash. The fight was over.

"You were awesome, Ed!"Nashi cheered, throwing her arms around the azure-haired boy. Edward blushed before responding softly. "You too, Nashi."

"Both of you!" Gale yelled. "Come and have a look at this!"

They did. The chest was a sight to behold. Gold, diamonds, silver, platinum, sapphires, crystals, rubies, emeralds, opals, amethysts, pearls….every kind of precious mineral you could imagine was overflowing from that huge chest. The three children gazed at it in silent rapture.

"Look!" Gale broke the silence by putting on a huge rope of pearls and ran gold bracelets up her wrists. Nashi laughed.

"Take them off, Gale, you look silly. Ed, which do you think would look good on me?"

Edward examined the chest before taking out a necklace. It had a silver chain and from the chain hung a lovely amethyst, with its melting violet and glimmer and shine.

"Here," Edward said and gently slipped it around her neck and then leaned back and smiled captivatingly at her. "You look even lovelier with that on."

Nashi ducked her head as her cheeks were stained with crimson. Her heart pounded.

Presently, she raised her head and looked at the others. "Let's go, guys."

They agreed, and all the gems were returned to the box. The team started towards the town.

Moving on…

Team Nashi had arrived in Magnolia at sunset. They laughed, joked and bantered as they headed homeward.

The team had gotten their reward of 60,000 jewels and the mayor was so happy, he allowed them to pick a thing or two from the treasure to keep for themselves.

Gale took a little turquoise ring and Edward chose two diamonds. And around Nashi's slender, creamy throat, the amethyst shone. She has it to this day.


	5. Layla

**Chapter 5**

 **Layla**

"She's the cutest thing ever!" Nashi Dragneel squealed, leaning over the bed to get a better look at her new sister. "Isn't she, Igneel?!"

A two-year old Igneel peered curiously at the tiny baby sleeping in Lucy's arms. Natsu chuckled at their enthusiasm.

"Little Layla," Lucy cuddled the baby to her chest. She looks nothing like her namesake, does she? But she looks lovely all the same."

The door opened and Levy came in, followed by Gale and Gajeel. "Is this Layla, then?" The solid-script mage asked, smiling. "Can I hold her, Lu?"

"Certainly."

Levy took the baby carefully and cooed at it. Gale glanced at Layla and then said in a matter-of-fact voice, "She looks a lot nicer than you, that's for sure, Nashi."

Nashi looked furious. "Why you-"

"Girls," Lucy said warningly. "No fighting in here."

Gale looked appealingly at her father, but even her shook his head. "Sorry, kid. Can't risk the baby getting' hurt."

Gale huffed and then dragged Nashi out of the room. "C'mon."

"But-Layla….."

Before she could even finish her sentence, Nashi was dragged out of the room by Gale.

The adults in the room chuckled, watching the pair leave.

"My, my," Levy said with a smile. "I wonder if Layla will grow up to be as hyper as her sister."

"Hopefully not," Lucy laughed. "I have enough trouble dealing with Nashi. She leaned down and kissed Layla's forehead tenderly. "This one will have a special personality of her own."

Layla opened her large brown eyes and smiled up at Lucy adorably. Lucy laughed and kissed her forehead again.

"Little Layla," she murmured. "You are so loved."


End file.
